Goodbye
by skyewarrior
Summary: I was happy for her when she passed the test, truly. But I would be lying if I didn't admit that I wanted her to stay.


I was happy for her when she passed the test, truly. But I would be lying if I didn't admit that I wanted her to stay. We ran through the streets of the spirit marketplace; passing by all the restaurants that were closed during the day time hours.

 _This is good_ , I thought to myself, _She will be with her family_. My grip on her hand tightened slightly, not wanting to let go.

"Where are my parents?" she asked.

"When you passed the test they appeared on the other side of the river. They are waiting for you there." While we ran my mind went over everything that had happened in the last few days. I found a girl, a human girl, curled into a ball from fear. A girl whose name I knew. There was nothing else about her that I knew, just a name. I knew I had to help her. For the first time since I began working for Yubaba I felt something. Something I couldn't explain. I wanted to protect this girl.

As it turned out she didn't need my protection. In the space of a few short days this girl gained the respect of everyone in the bath house, maybe even that of Yubaba. She cleaned a river spirit, removed a crazy Noh face from the bath house, and returned Yubaba's baby. All these great feats accomplished by a girl not yet 11 years old. She would grow to be an amazing woman.

We neared the river; soon I wouldn't be able to follow her, at least now I knew why I couldn't return and all because of her. This girl had given me everything back that I had lost. There was no way I could repay her. I would forever be in her debt.

When we reached the river bed I stopped, "This is as far as I can go. Your parents will be waiting on the other side."

"What about you?" That was just like her, thinking of everyone else. No, she didn't need my protection, I needed hers. This girl had saved me. She had saved me from death by Zaneeba's enchanted paper. She had released me from Yubaba's control. She had even saved me from death by Yubaba's henchmen. It was she who brought me back from the darkness, her voice called to me when nothing else could reach me. _What will I do without you?_

"I will be fine. I have my name back." _Thanks to you_. "I'm going to have a little talk with Yubaba and tell her I am going to stop being her apprentice." Her hand was still clasped in mine. This was the hard part. "When you cross the river don't look back until you are on the other side of the tunnel." There was no explanation to my statement but I knew she wouldn't ask for one. She was so trusting, it was her nature. If she looked back she would have had to stay. She wouldn't have been allowed to return home.

She nodded her head in understanding looking toward the direction of the tunnel that would take her back. My eyes never left her face. I wonder if she understood that we would most likely never meet again. My chest felt tight.

"Will we meet again?" Her sincerity filled me with warmth. I smiled at her.

"I'm sure we will." _I_ hope _we will_.

She started forward. My hand held onto hers for as long as it could but eventually I lost contact. My hand stayed reaching toward her but slowly returned to my side. My heart for so long frozen by the deeds I had to done for Yubaba had been thawed. It hurt to say goodbye to the one thing that now mattered to me, the one person. The girl who had given me everything. The girl who had _become_ my everything. Oh, how I wished she would turn around. How I wish she would look back at me. It was selfish, I knew, after all that she had gifted me and all I wanted was more.

My dragon's eyes could see as she reunited with her parents. I could see when her parents entered the tunnel expecting her to follow, but she didn't follow immediately behind them. I watched as her head turned slightly. My heart jumped, _she is going to turn around_. I didn't want to admit how happy I was at the thought of her turning around but she caught herself and focused on the tunnel before her. I watched as she disappeared in the blackness of the tunnel.

It hurt to see her go, but I would learn to live with it. I watched the tunnel entrance for hours. As the day finally closed and the water returned to cover the river I knew it was time to leave.

"Goodbye, Chihiro."


End file.
